MISHKAT

MISHKAT

Qur’an and Pre-Islamic Citizenship System: from Correction to Confirmation

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
1 Associate Professor, Department of Qur'anic and Tradition Sciences, Faculty of Theology, Farabi College, Tehran University (Corresponding author)
2 PhD student, Department of Qur'anic and Tradition Sciences, Faculty of Theology, Tehran University
Abstract
Guardianship and citizenship among Arabs changed from a system based on blood and lineage to an institution based on faith with frequent expressions of the Holy Qur’an. However, the Qur'an has not stated anything against the guardianship legal procedures that existed before Islam. How should this silence be interpreted next to the tremendous visionary and political revolution that has created in the pre-Islamic guardianship system? The current research has reviewed the issue of the legislative model of the Qur'an in the system of guardianship and citizenship with descriptive-analytical method. Investigations show that the Qur'an in the very first step of its revelation confirmed the pre-Islamic procedures of citizenship rights with its silence, and later, only to correct some rejected decrees such as adoption, Qur’an made foundational statements. The result is that in the combination of these silences and Qur'anic statements, the legal aspect of guardianship has been formed in Islam and the citizenship status of believers, infidels, non-Muslim subject, infants, slaves, freed slaves and natural and national apostates has been clarified.
Keywords
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